Six Inches to the Left
by Electronis Zappa
Summary: A reimagining of how the movie should have gone, if things had only been shifted a few inches to the left. Eventual Bechloe.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Pitch Perfect is not mine, I own none of the characters originating from the movie.  
**Author's Note:** The title is based off something from an old episode of 'That 70's Show', it's a term I've come to use to describe something that's close to "normal" but is off ever so slightly. So, in this case, it's my retelling of Pitch Perfect with things tweaked a little here and there. I have some things planned out that are original, but I'll be keeping certain aspects of the movie as well. So bear with me hopefully it'll be worth it. Thanks to E and Smeeg699 for their encouragement and beta work. I'll shut up now.

* * *

"I got it, thanks." Beca said as she stopped the porter from taking the bag that contained her most precious possession, her laptop. Taking it herself she turned from the cab to take in the scene before her as she wondered for about the millionth time what she was doing here. This was far from where she wanted to be, but her parents were insistent. It was unusual for both of them to agree on something, but on this they did. She was brought back to reality by an overly perky blonde in a green Barden shirt came up to greet her.

"Hi there, welcome to Barden University. What dorm?" the girl asked.

"Uh, Baker Hall I think." Beca answered, recalling the info from one of the various forms she'd received from the university. Shortly after the girl started giving directions, the DJ's attention was stolen by the sounds of a fellow incoming student in a passing car singing along to Kansas' _'Carry On Wayward Son'_. She couldn't help but smirk at how enthusiastic he got on seeing her. As the car drove off, the Barden ambassador stole her attention back

"Your campus map and your OFFICIAL BU rape whistle." The blonde said, handing the items to her. "Don't blow it unless it's actually happening." Beca had to admit, the girl was kind of cute, but her helpful enthusiasm, bordering on pushiness, caused the brunette to playfully put in her mouth. Beca walked away with a grin after a final "Hmm" from the girl.

Walking across campus to her building, Beca took in the bustle of college life around her, internally rolling her eyes at the frat boys that, if her guess was right, were rating girls as they walked by. She continued to her dorm as a cart with a large number of stuffed animals tipped over along the way. Arriving at her room, she entered to find her roommate decorating her half of the dorm.

"Hey, um…" Beca started, putting her laptop bag down on the empty bed, "You must be Kimmy Jin, I'm Beca." She introduced herself. "No English?" She asked as the Asian scowled at her, "Yes English? Just tell me where you're at with English." She added, getting the feeling it was going to be a long year.

* * *

"We have a lot of work ahead of us." Chloe said as she and Aubrey put the finishing touches on their display. In the distance, the Treblemakers could be heard breaking into "Let it Whip"

"I know we do." Aubrey said as she took in the booth "But we have tradition to uphold" she added moving behind the table and picking up flyers. She and Chloe both looked towards their competition. As they sang, she felt her ire rise. "I will stop at nothing to take those ding-a-lings down." She added. Before Chloe could respond, she saw a familiar face walk by.

"Hey Barb, you going to audition this year? We have openings?" The redhead asked hopefully, moving the clipboard she was holding to the brunette.

"Oh, now that you've puked your way to the bottom you might actually consider me?" Barb asked indignantly "I auditioned for you THREE times and never got in because you said my boobs looked like baloney." She said, putting her hands on her hips. This caused the sweater she was wearing to open further, revealing her very large areolae under her transparent white shirt. "The word's out. Bellas is the laughing stock of a capella. Good luck auditioning this year." She continued, adding a scoffed "douche b's" as she turned to walk away.

"Oh my god, this is a _travesty_." Chloe said, an overly dramatic sense of panic in her voice.

* * *

Aside from Fat Amy, the girls were having no luck getting anyone interested. It was really starting to get to Chloe till the redhead caught sight of a girl moving in their direction. All it took was one glance, and she was hooked. She could tell there was something special about this girl. Something that made her want to get to know her.

"Oh, what about her?" She asked, pointing her out.

"Oh, oh, I don't know, she looks a little too…" Aubrey started, "_alternative_ for us." She continued, emphasizing alternative with air quotes, her dismissive assessment earning a look of annoyance from the redhead that could be measured in microseconds

"Hi, any interest in joining our a capella group?" Chloe asked, not missing a beat, handing the girl a flyer as she walked by.

* * *

After the disappointment in learning the Barden DJs lacked the ability to appreciate her talents, and the entertaining run in with the blonde from Down Under, Beca continued on, looking for something, anything really, that would make the year bearable. Kimmy Jin had very quickly found a group for herself, but aside from an amusing conversation with the Running In A Circle club, the DJ was having no luck of her own. She was beginning to think she wouldn't find anything when a bubbly redhead handed her a flyer and asked her a question while her seemingly uptight blonde companion looked on in disapproval.

"Oh right, this is like a thing now." Beca said, looking up at the redhead after briefly studying the flyer.

"Oh totes. We sing covers of songs but we do it without _any_ instruments. It's all from our mouths." Chloe answered happily.

"Yikes." Beca said as she processed the conversation. She wasn't sure if it was the promise of something musical, or being captivated by the attractiveness of the redhead that kept her talking to the pair. More than likely it was a combination of the two she reasoned as the redhead continued talking.

"There's four groups on campus. The Bellas, that's us. We're the tits." Chloe said as she gestured between Aubrey and herself. "The BU Harmonics. They sing _a lot_ of Madonna. Uh, the High Notes. They're not particularly…motivated. And then there's…" she trailed off, turning towards where the Treblemakers were just finishing _'Let it Whip'_. Neither Bella hid their contempt as they turned back to Beca. "So, are you interested?" Chloe asked.

"Sorry, it just, it's pretty lame." Beca finally decided. She didn't want anything to distract her from her goal of becoming the greatest DJ since Ad-Rock, and she got the feeling the redhead could quite easily become a major distraction.

"Aca-scuse me? " Aubrey's Interjection caused Beca to miss the brief look of disappointment on Chloe's face when the DJ declined the invitation. "Synchronized lady dancing to a Mariah Carey chart topper is not lame." The blonde added with a laugh.

"We sing all over the world and we compete in national championships." Chloe said, trying to make another pitch.

"On purpose?" Beca asked skeptically, wanting the conversation to end so she could find something less distracting than the pretty redhead.

"We played the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center, you bitch!" Aubrey replied defensively.

"Oh, what Aubrey means to say is that we are a close knit, talented group of ladies whose dream is to return to the National Finals at Lincoln Center this year." Chloe once again attempted to soften Aubrey's harsh tone. "Help us turn our dreams into a reality?" the redhead asked pleadingly

"Sorry, I don't even sing," Beca lied, hoping that would put an end to things. "But it was really nice to meet you guys." She added before heading off, once again missing the disappointed look on Chloe's face.

"What are _we_ going to do?" Aubrey asked, frustrated they were having little luck.

* * *

Beca was nervous as she walked up to the radio station. She was glad she had finally found something that seemed like it could be what she had in mind. The prospect of playing music helped push thoughts of the redhead out of her mind.

"Hey, I'm Beca." She said as he approached the guy manning the desk at the front of the station.

"Over there." He responded, obviously knowing to keep a look out for her.

"Thanks." Beca replied. As she stepped through the door labeled 'Studio' and listened to the on air DJ do the required station identification, Beca knew this was where she wanted to be. The shelves of records impressed her as she made her way to the booth where she and the DJ exchanged greetings.

"Have you been standing there long?" The Brit asked as he turned the volume of the speakers playing the radio's output down.

"No. No, I just got here, I wasn't just standing here." Beca said as she followed the DJ towards the booth.

"Freshmen aren't allowed in the booth." Luke warned as he grabbed a crate filled with records and cds as Beca apologized "I'm Luke, station manager. You must be Becky the intern?" He introduced himself.

"Um, it's uh…." Beca started before being cut off by the 'wayward son'.

"Hey man, what's up? I'm Jesse." Jesse said as he joined them.

"I'm Luke. You're late." Luke admonished.

"Hey, I know you!" Jesse said when he recognized Beca.

"No, you don't." Beca replied, not wanting to admit she had seen him.

"Yeah, I do." Jesse insisted.

"He doesn't." Beca added.

"Totally know her." Jesse continued.

"OK cool. Well you guys can figure it out while you're stacking CDs." Luke ended the bickering, not caring. "When you're done, there's more. Now, you guys will be spending a lot of down time together, so please, just no sex on the desk. I've been burned before." Luke finished before heading back to the booth.

"I do know you. I sang to you. I remember because you were in a taxi." Jesse said when they were alone. "Wait, is your dad a taxi driver?" He joked.

"No." Was Beca's curt reply as she started digging into the crate. "This sucks, I wanted to play music." She added, not hiding her disappointment.

"Not me." Jesse said, attempting once again to joke around to lighten the mood. "I'm here for one reason only, I really love stacking CDs." He continued, earning a glare from Beca. "So what's your deal? You one of those girls who's all dark and mysterious, then she takes off her glasses and that amazingly scary ear spike, and you realize that, you know, she was beautiful the whole time?" He asked, trying to get a response out of her.

"I don't wear glasses." Beca pointed out flatly.

"Then you're half way there," Jesse answered, earning another glare from Beca.

"And just so you know, there's not going to be any sex." Beca warned him. "On the desk or anywhere."

"I know, I'm not your type." Jesse answered, this time earning a look that was a mixture of surprise and questioning.

"And how do you know I'm not?" Beca asked, studying him.

"You're gay aren't you?" He asked, looking her over once more to confirm his read on her. "Your nails, your shoes, the plaid all scream it to me." He said, smiling at the surprise still on her face. "What, are you not out? Just realizing it now?" he asked.

"No, no to both of those." Beca shook her head. "I'm just used to most guys being clueless, how did you know? Are you gay?" she asked, not thinking he was.

"Nope, I like girls and so does my twin sister." Jesse answered.

"Twin? But there was just you in the car." Beca asked, remembering the day not that long ago.

"So you do remember." Jesse said with a smirk as Beca rolled her eyes. "You're right, it was just me. She's at Georgia Tech for electrical engineering; we dropped her off the day before we came here." He explained.

"So what does she have to do with you picking up my gayness?" Beca asked as she went back to sorting through the milk crate of music.

"Well as I'm sure you figured from the implication, she's a lesbian." Jesse started as he helped her. "Kinsey 6…" Jesse started before Beca cut him off

"What's that?" she asked, skeptically raising an eyebrow

"It's this scale from 0 to 6 where 0 is only heterosexual experiences and 6 is only homosexual." Jesse explained "Emma Stone's character said it in _'Easy A'_. Anyway as I was saying, my sister's a lesbian but she has no gaydar, she has the hardest time telling if a girl is gay or not, like Dana from _'The L Word'_."

"Hated when they killed her off." Beca chimed in.

"I know right?" Jesse asked. "But funny thing is, I'm fairly accurate at picking out the lesbians. We've become convinced I got her gaydar. I don't know what she's going to do without me telling her that no matter how super cute her roommate is, she reads as absolutely straight to me."

"So, this sister have a name?" Beca asked, letting her guard down and attempting to make conversation.

"You would think after eighteen years our parents would have gotten around to that." Jesse joked, earning a chuckle from Beca. "Daisy. Our parents named us after the Dukes of Hazard characters." Jesse deadpanned.

"Really?" Beca asked, clearly not believing him.

"Of course not." Jesse answered with a smile. "Just because we're from the south doesn't mean we're a bunch of inbred, ignorant hicks."

"I didn't think so." Beca said.

"No, we were named after our grandparents. I'm Jesse Frederick, my first name coming from our dad's dad, and she's Josephine Susan with her first name from our mom's mom." Jesse explained. "Jesse and Josie, worked out quite nice."

"Sounds like it." Beca nodded,

"What about you?" Jesse asked. "Any special meaning to your name?"

"I don't know, I never really asked." Beca answered. "I'm sure if it was important I would have been told." She answered, hoping that would satisfy him, which judging by the nod of apparent understanding, he did. She sent a silent thank you to the universe that he chose not to press the issue as they went about the tasks Luke gave them in relative silence

* * *

It was a rather pleasant Atlanta day, so Beca decided she'd work on her latest mix on the quad. The Running in a Circle club was doing their thing behind her. She had to give them credit, they were able to find happiness in the simplest of things. Slipping her headphones on, she leaned back and got lost in the song. _'I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)'_ seemed to be the perfect song to mix with _'Titanium'_ at this point, because its title at least summed up her goal. She didn't want to be here, really. Not that she didn't respect Atlanta's music scene, but it isn't quite what she was looking for. Los Angeles, though more than five hundred miles from Georgia's capital, is music central. If she was going to get her break, it would come there, and she knew it. But her parents left her little choice in the matter, so she summoned her inner strength, the inner strength _'Titanium'_ is all about, and decided to just get it over and done with.

At least she had found the radio station. That had the potential to be her sanctum, if she could ever get in the damn booth. She wasn't quite sure what to make of the others that worked there yet. Luke seemed like he could be a good boss. Jesse, the other intern, was rather interesting. She had never really hidden the fact that she was gay, but like she had told him, she was used to guys not picking up on it and hitting on her anyway, so his picking up on it nearly instantly after only two brief interactions threw her for a loop. He seemed like he could be a friend, especially since he didn't pass judgment on her. She'd had more than one guy try the "maybe you just haven't found the right guy" line on her, so his acceptance was a welcome change of pace. Still, she knew what the Bible Belt could be like, so she was sticking to her 'no distractions' policy. When she got to LA, THEN she'd think about finding Ms. Right.

* * *

Beca headed for the shower with lots on her mind. The talk with her father was encouraging, at least he was finally starting to come around. She was a bit disappointed the radio station with its "three weirdoes" wasn't enough for him, but progress was being made. As she headed for a free stall, she was singing _'Titanium'_, her go to song as of late. Singing in the shower was far from new for her, what was new was her singing being a siren song apparently, luring in pretty redheads. She had been so caught up in her singing and her thoughts about what she could do to appease her father that she didn't hear Chloe's stealthy approach. To say she was startled was only the beginning.

"You can sing!" the redhead called out happily, gaining Beca's attention.

"Dude!" Beca yelled, pulling the curtain closed. Chloe didn't let that stop her.

"How high does your belt go?" Chloe asked opening the curtain.

"My what?" Beca asked as she shut the water off. "Oh my god!"

"You HAVE to audition for the Bellas" Chloe said.

"I can't concentrate on anything you're saying until you cover your junk." Beca said, taking a brief moment to glance at Chloe's very pleasing form.

Calling the redhead attractive was an understatement. She was gorgeous, and as she had said, she should be confident with all that. As much as she had tried to cover up, she couldn't resist sneaking peeks at the phenomenal body before her. The redhead's knowledge of _'Titanium'_ and David Guetta impressed her, causing her to let her guard down a little and maybe consider that the Bellas could be the solution to her conundrum.

Singing together had been…she didn't have the right words to describe it, it had been so overwhelming. Her initial assessment had been right, this girl had the potential to be a very big, although very eye pleasing, distraction. She had been disappointed though when the guy she was apparently with joined the conversation, complementing her on her voice. Still, the more she thought about it, it couldn't hurt to try out, it could be the means to the end she was looking for.

* * *

"AUBREY!" Chloe called out excitedly when she returned to the room she shared with the blond.

"I'm right here Chlo, you don't need to shout." Aubrey said, looking up from the book she was reading.

"Oh I know, but I've got good news!" The redhead said, sitting on her bed.

"This must be big news, weren't you hanging out with what'shisface?" Aubrey asked, resigning herself to the fact she wouldn't be able to get any reading done till she heard her friend out.

"I was, but… something happened." Chloe said, still excited over harmonizing with the brunette in the shower. "Remember the cute brunette from the activity fair?"

"The one who said she couldn't sing?" Aubrey asked, thinking back. "The one who clearly wanted nothing to do with a capella."

"Yep, that one." Chloe happily confirmed. "She can sing, very well. Tom and I were in the shower, and someone walks into the shower room singing _'Titanium'_…"

"The one you use with your girl toys?" Aubrey interjected. "Can see how it got your attention."

"Yep that song." Chloe confirmed. "So, I just had to go see who it was, and it was her. We harmonized… She's got an amazing voice. We really, really need to get her to join the Bellas." Chloe said

"I don't know, I still don't think she's Bella material." Aubrey said, closing her eyes as she pictured what she remembered of the girl.

"I hope she comes to auditions, because I really think she is." Chloe said. "I really like her Aubrey. That moment I spotted her at the fair….it was our water fountain moment."

"You and your Buffy/Willow fanfic." Aubrey rolled her eyes. "Sometimes I wonder if you don't just like the thought of a hot blond with a hot redhead." She teased.

"You know full well if you liked girls I'd have been all over you." Chloe answered with a devilish grin. "But you're not, and don't change the subject. This girl is something special, I can tell. And she was checking me out, I think."

"You think?" Aubrey asked.

"She definitely looked." Chloe nodded. "She was being all cute and shy, it was adorable. And when Tom came by, she didn't seem interested in him at all."

"I still don't know Chloe, she seems like trouble." Aubrey said. "Don't get your hopes up. I've got enough going on this year, I don't have time to deal with a mopey redhead when alt-girl turns out to be straight and breaks your heart."

"You will anyway." Chloe said. "You'll spoil me with vodka and ice cream and throw in a few 'I told you so's to boot."

"I will" Aubrey sighed. "You know me so well. Why can't I just like girls? It would make things so easy."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** I want to start off by thanking everyone who's left reviews and all of you who've followed/favorite this. It means so much to know you like it. Anyway, you'll notice one of the things I've decided to change was Mary Elise's ejection. I really don't have plans for her, but I liked her, my nickname for her is "Felicia Day lite". Smeg can attest that from me, that's a high compliment. Towards the end, I introduce a new character, Casey. Picture her as Margo Harshman. I have cast Josie for when I finally introduce her, but I'm keeping it under wraps for now. Feel free to speculate. Ok I'm yammering. Disclaimer in the first chapter. Chapter 3 will come after my next installment of Slaying Intersected, whenever that comes. Thanks to E and Smeg for the beta/encouragement yada yada.

* * *

Chloe sat in the auditorium chair, anxiously waiting for auditions to start. She hoped the brunette would come, she really wanted Aubrey to hear what she had. Granted, _'Since U Been Gone'_ isn't _'Titanium'_, but she had no doubt the girl could quite easily handle it. She chuckled to herself. The girl, she didn't even know her name and she was hooked. As Aubrey returned with the information on the auditioners, she wasn't surprised when Bumper had something offensive to say. She had to admit though, she was proud when her friend stood her ground and told him off.

Chloe sat and listened as the hopefuls came and went. There were some that showed some real potential, especially liking Stacie and Kori, but none of them were Shower Girl. As Fat Amy finished and Tommy and Justin came out on stage announcing that was everyone, Chloe couldn't help but feel upset that the cute brunette wasn't interested. But then she looked stage right, and saw her. "Oh wait, there's one more. Hi." She said, waving to the shower girl.

It took Chloe a moment to recover from the pleasantness of the view she got as Shower Girl knelt down to grab the cup, but by the time she started her song she was good to go. Chloe sat with rapt attention as Shower Girl sang. The occasional glances her way didn't go unnoticed either, taking her memories back to the shower stall. As Shower Girl finished with the smallest of smiles, Chloe knew despite the look on Aubrey's face, the girl would soon be drinking Boone's Farm.

* * *

Ever since the shower, Beca had debated if she'd actually go to auditions or not. On one hand, she was sure her dad would approve, but on the other, there was The Redhead. The cute redhead with the amazing body, an image burned in her memory, hopefully forever if she were lucky. During their next shift at the station, Jesse mentioned that he and his roommate were going to be auditioning, and also that his sister was apparently so bored with her first year classes at Georgia Tech she was probably going to try out there for something to do.

It crossed her mind briefly that maybe she could join one of the other groups, then she remembered the rundown the redhead had given her. The Treblemakers were apparently all male, so they were out. While she wasn't really opposed to it, pot just wasn't her thing, so the High Notes were out. That left her only alternative as the Harmonics. But could she really tolerate singing that much Madonna? So she came to realize that if she did go this route, the only group she'd be interested in would be the Bellas, and thus she came full circle back to The Redhead. She was about to decide not to go, when she got a text from her dad asking if she'd found any clubs yet, which caused her to give in and least check it out.

As she reached the building where the auditions were being held, she could hear they were already going on, some guy was singing _'Since U Been Gone'_. As she tried to figure out where to go, he finished and said something about performing giving him a rush. When she figured out how to sneak backstage, the Aussie girl she'd met at the Activities Fair took the stage and gave a rather spirited performance of the same parts of the same song. Beca got the impression it was something they'd been told to work on before the two guys apparently running things headed for the stage. As they were talking, she headed for the door to the stage and wasn't surprised when the redhead saw her and encouraged her to come out. "Hello. Um, I didn't know we had to prepare that song." She said as she made her way center stage.

"That's ok, sing anything you want." The redhead said. When she saw the cup of pens in front of the blond, an idea popped into her head.

"May I?" she asked, leaning down to take the cup. After getting situated, she launched into _'When I'm Gone'_, glancing at the redhead every chance she got when she wasn't caught up in her song. Deep down, she loved the infectious smile she earned from The Redhead once she'd finished.

* * *

Aubrey had made many notes on the potential Bellas. She saw some potential, enough to make her hopeful that she and Chloe could whip the girls they got into shape. Before she could be glad that 'alt-girl' hadn't shown up, she was being beckoned on stage by Chloe and kneeling in front of her. Begrudgingly, she listened to the song, and was quite impressed with the girl's skill. As she finished her face fell, knowing it'd be hard for her to come up with a reason not to pick her. She sent a silent prayer to whatever deity would listen that she was in fact straight.

* * *

"I don't know what I'm doing here." Beca said as she followed the other Bellas into the amphitheater. That much was true, she was still having regrets about her decision. The initiation had been a little weird, she was still a little embarrassed she had half thought they were serious about it being blood. The girls did seem interesting though.

"Just living the dream. I still can't believe they let my sexy, fat ass in." Fat Amy said before wandering off when she heard Jesse calling out the DJ's name.

"Wow" Beca said as the newly minted Treblemaker, wearing their trademark maroon hooded sweatshirt, approached her.

"Be-caw! Be-caw! Do my eyes deceive me, or are you a Barden Bella?" he asked as he reached her.

"No." Beca shook her head playfully, not wanting to admit it.

"You're one of those a capella girls, I'm one of those a capella boys, and you're gonna have aca-children and I'll be their aca-uncle. It's inevitable." He said.

"You're really drunk right now, I don't think you're going to remember any of this." Beca said, taking in his inebriated state.

"No, I'm not drunk at all, you're just blurry." Jesse stated. They bantered back and forth till Jesse offered to go get Beca a drink.

"Hi!" Chloe called out, coming up to Beca.

"Oh!" Beca said as the redhead grabbed her hands. Maybe there was hope after all.

"I am so glad that I met you." Chloe said, leaning in close to Beca's face. "I think that we're going to be really fast friends." She added, somehow resisting the urge to kiss her right then and there.

Yeah." Beca said, also restraining herself from leaning in to kiss Chloe as the redhead echoed her 'yeah'. "Well you saw me naked so…" she added with a wink.

"Alright, I'm going to get a drink." Chloe said, pulling away. "This ginger needs her jiggle juice!" she added, doing a little dance, ending it by smacking her ass and snapping her fingers in the air. "See you later."

"Make good choices." Beca called out, having enjoyed watching Chloe's impromptu dance.

* * *

"Ladies, welcome to Aca-Initiation night." Aubrey said as she determinedly led the Bellas into the amphitheater. "Prepare to soften the beach." She added as she headed off to get herself a drink. It was going to be an interesting night, she knew she'd have to keep her eyes peeled for any mingling of her girls with the Treblemakers. When she saw Beca talking to one of the new Trebles, she didn't quite know what to think. On one hand, a small part of her hoped they'd hook up so she could kick Alt-Girl out and be done with her. But on the other hand, there was Chloe to consider. Sure she had some sort of thing going on with What'shisface, and he was here at the party, but after their conversation Aubrey knew Chloe'd ditch him in a second if she thought she had a shot at Beca. Her thoughts were interrupted by Fat Amy making an observation.

"You know, so there's like ten of us."

"Mmmhmmm." Aubrey agreed, curious where the Aussie's point was going.

"That means that one of us is probably a lesbian." Fat Amy continued. This intrigued Aubrey, she couldn't help but wonder if Amy picked up on Chloe's bisexuality.

"You think? Which one do you think it is?" Aubrey asked

"My money's on Black Beauty." Amy said as the two of them looked to where Cynthia Rose was clearly checking out Stacie's tits. "Maybe the deaf Jew." Amy added, turning her attention to where Beca and Chloe were still talking.

"Ah." Aubrey said, inwardly cursing the puzzle that was Beca Mitchell.

"Don't tell them I said that." Amy said. As the Aussie babbled on, an idea started forming in Aubrey's mind.

* * *

"You gotta keep your head up mmmhmm." Jesse sang as he climbed the seats to where Beca was talking to Mary Elise. "Because you got…"

"Be careful." Mary Elise said, ending their conversation when she saw Jesse bringing a drink to Beca.

"I don't know the words, but I can…" Jesse continued handing Beca her drink.

"Thank you." Beca said.

"This is awesome." Jesse said as he turned to take in the other 'aca-people' partying below them.

"It's definitely something." Beca replied, still having reservations. No matter how many times she told herself she just had to stick with it till May, the urge to push people away and live in her own little secluded world still screamed in her mind. She certainly was caught off guard by Jesse's excited exclamation

"WE ARE THE KINGS OF CAMPUS!" He called out happily, causing Beca to look away embarrassingly. Her face fell a little when she saw Chloe making out with shower guy.

"What's wrong Becster?" Jesse asked when he turned around and saw how let down she looked.

"It's nothing." Beca tried to brush it off.

"I don't think that's the case." He said as he turned his gaze to Chloe and Tom when he saw that's where Beca's was.

"Ah, you like her." Jesse said with an understanding nod as he turned back to Beca once again. "I thought I saw you looking at her during your audition. You were amazing by the way, it's no wonder they picked you."

"Thanks." Beca said simply. She never quite felt comfortable taking compliments.

"Way to be modest." Jesse smiled before taking a drink. "We're not the only ones entering the exciting world of a cappella today. I got a text from my sister earlier, apparently she joined a group called 'High Voltage'. Apparently they're all electrical engineers. I wouldn't be surprised if they sing a lot of AC Lightning Bolt DC."

"Why'd you add the lightning bolt?" Beca asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's a Simpsons thing." Jesse brushed it off.

"Oh I see." Beca nodded.

"Yeah, anyway she's enthused to say the least. She's easily the smartest person I know, so like I said her first year classes aren't really that challenging to her." Jesse explained. "She told me the other week she does the crossword puzzle in her calculus class."

"She doesn't find it distracting?" Beca asked, her eyes wandering back to Chloe.

"Apparently not, she mentioned acing a quiz." Jesse answered, noticing Beca's meandering gaze. "That's gotta hurt." Jesse added as he saw the redhead and the boy she was kissing were still together. "I know how that feels a little, there was this girl I liked junior year, cute blonde, gave off no pings. By the time I got my nerve up to make a move, she was making out with Josie."

"That had to have hurt." Beca said, turning her attention to Jesse.

"Eh, had it been anyone else it would have, but Jo's the most important person in my life right now, so who am I to begrudge her some happiness?" He asked.

"You sound like a great brother." Beca said with a small smile.

"I try to be." Jesse nodded. "Give me time and you'll see."

* * *

"Beca, a word?" Aubrey asked as the first Bellas practice of the year broke up. From the get go it was rather rocky. Aubrey had revealed that Kori had been disinvited for being 'Treble-boned.' There was much shock at learning that the oath was in fact 'Dixie Chicks serious' as Aubrey had put it. Beca was still amused that Stacie called it a dude, but really wasn't shocked to learn "he" was a hunter. What shocked her more though was the music selection, and that apparently they were learning the exact same choreography from Aubrey's puke-stravaganza.

"What's up?" Beca asked, giving the blonde the benefit of doubt.

"You know you'll have to take those ear monstrosities out for the Fall mixer." Aubrey informed her.

"You really don't like me, do you?" Beca asked, having gotten that impression from the beginning.

"I don't like your attitude" Aubrey said, not mincing words.

"You don't even know me." Beca shot back, standing her ground.

"I know you have a toner for Jesse." Aubrey said, praying it was in fact the case so she wouldn't have to put her plan into action.

"A what?" Beca asked, confused and amused at the same time.

"A toner. A musical boner." Aubrey explained. "I saw it at Hood Night. It's distracting."

"Yeah that's not a thing and uh you're not the boss of me. So…" Beca replied, not liking Aubrey's attitude towards her.

"You took an oath." Aubrey pointed out.

"That oath cost you one girl already today. I'm pretty sure you need me more than I need you." Beca said before turning to leave.

"I can see your toner through those jeans!" Aubrey called out, frustrated.

"That's my strap-on, cause I'm gay." Beca shot back as she got her things and left. Beca's words caused Aubrey to freak out internally. Looks like she'd have to put her plan into effect after all.

"Isn't that great?" Chloe asked happily as she joined Aubrey.

"This mean you're going to dump What'shisface?" Aubrey asked.

"You know his name Bree." Chloe admonished.

"I've got a lot on my mind Chlo." Aubrey said. "And I don't really WANT to know, it's not like you're going to marry him."

"You're right." Chloe nodded. "Especially now." She added with a smile, causing Aubrey to roll her eyes as she pulled out her phone and started to send a text, launching her plan into action.

**Hey Howie, it's been a rough day, thought maybe we could go out tonight, maybe have some fun ;)**

* * *

Beca had been working on a mix during downtime at the station, and when she went to check Facebook she found she wasn't connected to the internet. In fact, she couldn't find any wireless networks at all, so Luke suggested she head to one of the computer labs on campus in the hopes there would be someone who could help. As it turned out she was in luck, a cute brunette sat behind the attendant's desk intently drawing on a sketch pad. "Good there's someone here." She said as she approached the girl.

"There is." The girl confirmed, perking up when she saw Beca. It had been a slow shift so far, the lab was deserted at the moment save for herself and Beca, so she welcomed the human interaction. "My name's Casey, you need help with something?" she asked, putting her sketch pad down.

"Beca." She said, indicating herself. "Yeah, um," she started pulling out her laptop, "I was working on a mix and now I'm having trouble connecting to networks." She said as she booted it up. "That's nice." She added as she saw the drawing of a mermaid the girl was working on.

"Thanks." Casey smiled at Beca. "It's what I'd imagine Felicia Day would look like as Ariel on 'Once Upon a Time'." She explained.

"You drew her well." Beca complimented, returning Casey's smile.

"I'd like to think so." Casey nodded, liking the friendly back and forth with the girl. "So what do you mean 'working on a mix'?" She asked, trying to get as much information as possible.

"I'm a DJ, or I want to be at least. I was combining Halestorm's cover of _'Bad Romance'_ with Van Halen's cover of _'You Really Got Me'_." Beca explained. With how she'd been feeling about Chloe lately, she couldn't help but think the songs worked together quite well, a kind of musical therapy. That's what music was for her, a way to express things she couldn't actually put into words herself.

"That's really cool, I dig Halestorm. Lizzy Hale's hot." Casey said, flipping her hair as she turned her attention to the screen. "Think it might be an easy enough fix." She added, pressing the combo of buttons to re-enable the wireless connection. "It's not hard to accidently turn off the wireless connection." She added as she clicked the appropriate icon for the school's wireless network.

"I feel like an idiot." Beca said with a blush.

"Nah, really it's not that hard to do." Casey said, flirtatiously twirling her hair between her fingers. "So Beca, what are you here for?" Casey asked, trying to make conversation.

"I'm really not sure, probably something music related of course." Beca answered with a shrug. "How about you? Something to do with art or computers I'm guessing?"

"Yeah, graphic design." Casey confirmed. "I want to design video games. What can I say, I'm a geek, hence my Felicia Day obsession." She chuckled. "So, music huh?" she asked. "My big brother's in Sigma Beta Theta, they're having their fall mixer next week and the Bellas are supposed to be performing, maybe you'd like to come?" she asked.

"Actually I am a Bella." Beca said softly.

"Oh." Casey said with a grin. "Excellent, I guess I'll see you there then."

"I'll make sure of it." Beca said, returning Casey's grin. She couldn't deny, she was enjoying flirting with Casey. It couldn't hurt to rethink her no distractions policy, especially since it was possible that Casey could help her deal with Chloe not being available. Besides, she was sure her dad would count dating as part of the college experience he wanted her to have.

* * *

After ending things with Tom once and for all, Chloe headed for the station intent on talking with Beca. The brunette's exclamation at Aubrey's accusation of having a toner for Jesse gave Chloe the hope she was looking for. She was really kicking herself now for not kissing Beca at Initiation night like she almost had. But there was nothing she could do to change that. When she got to the station, she was disappointed to find Beca wasn't there, but was grateful that Luke was able to point her to the computer lab that she now approached.

She knew this might seem like a whim to some, and no doubt Aubrey certainly thought it was, but Chloe didn't see it that way though. Ever since the activities fair she couldn't help but feel the fates were pushing the two of them towards each other. She could still remember the way Beca had looked that day as she turned the corner to the lab and found herself peering through the window to find the younger girl talking intently to another brunette. It was obvious to Chloe by the other brunette's body language that she was clearly flirting with Beca. What truly devastated her though was how caught up in the conversation Beca appeared to be, very clearly flirting back. Before Beca had a chance to turn around and see her there, Chloe spun and hurried off towards the room she shared with Aubrey, fighting back the tears she felt growing. Hopefully Aubrey would forget her issues with Beca and provide the comforting support that Chloe needed.


End file.
